Home improvement giant Lowe’s is cashing in on its omnichannel customer engagement prowess.
Lowe’s recorded solid comparable sales growth of 5.7 percent during the third quarter, a figure which made CEO Robert Niblock proud.
“We are pleased with the progress we’ve made to enhance our product and service offerings for the pro customer, delivering another quarter of comps above the company average,” Niblock said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call last month. “Our integration of Maintenance Supply Headquarters and Central Wholesalers remains on track, and we continue to be excited about opportunities these acquisitions provide to further expand our products and services to serve the multi-family housing industry. During the quarter, we also advanced the customer experience through our omnichannel assets, driving 33 percent online comp growth. We’re seeing positive customer response to our evolving omnichannel capabilities intended to meet customers at every critical moment, whenever, wherever, and however they choose to engage with us.”
What’s more, Forbes Magazine recognized Lowe’s as one of the Top 10 most engaged companies.
“This distinction highlights our commitment to engage customers with a purpose, offer consistent experiences, and put the customer at the center of everything we do,” Niblock added.
Internationally, Lowe’s delivered strong performance, including high single-digit comps in Canada and double-digit comp growth in Mexico in local currency.
“We made further progress with the integration of RONA, continuing our rollout of appliances, converting our second RONA big-box store to a Lowe's branded store and continue to drive growth with our e-commerce platform,” Niblock said. “We’re excited with the momentum of the business and believe we are well-positioned for continued success in Canada.”
Turning to the economic landscape, Niblock noted that the home improvement industry remains poised to see solid growth, with job and income gains supporting consumer spending.
“We believe that revolving credit usage will continue to supplement spending power generated by stronger incomes,” he explained. “Housing is also expected to remain a bright spot. Household formation improvement this year is encouraging, and home price appreciation should continue as housing demand outpaces supply, encouraging homeowners to engage in discretionary projects, in addition to ongoing maintenance and repair spending.”
As Lowe’s surveys consumers, it continues to see favorable trends.
“Our third quarter Consumer Sentiment Survey highlighted that consumers have an increasingly positive view of the national economy and continue to view their personal financial situation favorably,” Niblock said. “Given that over half of homeowners believe their home values are increasing, intent to engage in discretionary home improvement projects remains strong. We were pleased with our continued traffic growth, driven by optimized marketing messaging and the benefits provided by strategic investments in our integrated omnichannel experience. We look to further build upon our strong foundation by developing capabilities to anticipate and support customers’ evolving needs and improve our operating discipline and execution, making productivity a core strength for Lowe’s.”